Apparatus for bunching broccoli is known in the art. Generally, broccoli stems are manually bunched together and a rubber band placed about the bunched stems. A housing incorporating a knife blade generally electrically operated by a solenoid is designed to receive the stems and then cut the stems when the solenoid is energized. An electric switch is provided for this purpose.
With broccoli stem cutters of the foregoing type, danger could result if an operator should insert his hand in front of the knife when the same was operated. To avoid this possibility, it has been proposed to provide two switches which are widely spaced and must be simultaneously operated to actuate the knife so that both hands of a person will be occupied and the risk of cutting a hand is minimized.
There is a need for an improved broccoli bunching and cutting apparatus wherein the same can be readily operated with the same degree of safety as the foregoing devices, but without requiring widely spaced switches. Further, such a device should be able to automatically sequentially carry out further steps in the processing of the broccoli so that minimum demands are made upon the user.